Draft control



L. F. PFISTER DRAFT CONTROL Sept. 28, 1965 Filed Oct. 11 1965 INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,208,670 DRAFT CONTROL Leo F. Pfister, Mendota, IlL, assignor to Conco Engineering Works, Inc., a corporation of Illinois Filed Oct. 11, 1963, Ser. No. 315,446 1 Claim. (Cl. 236-45) This invention relates to draft controls and more particularly to a draft control which is more simply constructed and easily installed by parts fixed to the draft control.

An object of this invention is to provide a new and improved draft control,

Another object of the invention is to provide a draft control in which a single means is provided having the dual functions of limiting the pivotal movement of the draft control gate to movement in a single direction and additionally securing the draft control to a surrounding mounting member.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a draft control with means permanently installed at the factory for fastening the draft control to a surrounding member in which said means embodies an internally threaded member locked to the ring of the draft control and a coacting threaded member positioned for easy adjustment upon installation of the draft control whereby the loss of necessary parts is avoided.

A further object of the invention is to provide a draft control as defined in the preceding paragraph in which the internally threaded member is mounted on the ring of the draft control in a position to function as a one-way stop to block movement of the draft control gate in one direction and wherein said threaded member has cushioning material thereon to provide a relatively soft stop for the gate whereby shaping of parts of the draft control to provide the necessary stop is avoided.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the draft control shown in association with a surrounding mounting collar;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the structure shown in FIG. 1 with the surrounding collar shown in section and an upper part of the draft control ring broken away; and

FIG. 3 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale taken generally along the line 3-3 in FIG. 1.

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail an embodiment of the invention with the understanding that the present disclo sure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principle-s of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claim.

As shown in the drawings, the draft control embodies a ring, indicated generally at 10, having a generally annular configuration with a central cylindrical wall 11 having at the forward edge thereof a radially outwardly extending flange 12 and at the rear edge thereof an inturned flange 13.

At the sides of the ring 10, a pair of transversely spaced sections 14 and 15 form generally straight sides for a gate receiving space within the ring in which a gate 16 is positioned.

The gate 16 is formed as a generally planar member having hinge means in the form of a pair of hinge pins 17 and 18 secured to the gate by means of deformed sections 19 of the gate. The outer extremities of the hinge pins extend beyond the perimeter of the gate to lie within openings formed in rearwardly bent extensions of the sections 14 and 15 of the ring. More particularly, the ring section 15 has a rearwardly extending flange 20 provided with an opening 21 which receives the outer extremity 22 of the hinge pin 18. The gate thus is mounted for generally pivotal movement although it will be obvious that suitable shaping of the opening 21 in the flange 20 could provide for rolling engagement of the hinge pin as the gate rocks. The mounting of the hinge pin 17 is similar to that described for the hinge pin 18.

Suitable means are provided on the gate 16 to provide for proper adjustment of the gate for different draft conditions. This means embodies a bracket 25 secured to the front face of the gate 16 having two different sections for mounting of a weight 26. An additional weight 27 is mounted to the rear face of the gate 16 to provide for proper adjustment of the gate balance at the factory. Only general reference is made to the mounting of the weights 26 and 27, since this structure is as shown in Field Patent No. 2,555,687, dated June 5, 1951, and reference may be made thereto for a more detailed description of the construction and operation of this mechanism and said structure is incorporated herein by reference.

The foregoing structure is generally known in the draft control field. Reference will now be made to the added structure facilitating mounting of the draft control and more simply controlling swinging movement of the gate 16.

As shown in the drawings, the draft control is normally mounted within a generally cylindrical collar 30 which may be of a fixed diameter and means permanently attached to the draft control are provided for easily securing the draft control to the collar. This means comprises an internally threaded rivet 31 disposed generally at the top of the draft control and above the pivot axis of the gate as defined by hinge pins 17 and 18 and which is positioned in an opening in the wall 11 of the draft control ring 10, as shown particularly in FIG. 3. This threaded rivet has a .pair of flanges 31a and 31b lying at the opposite sides of the wall L1 to securely lock the rivet to the draft control ring. The unit may have one fl-auge preformed and after positioning the other flange is formed under pressure. This rivet is also located to the front or forwardly of the gate 16 for a purpose more fully set forth hereinafter. A threaded bolt 32 is threaded into the rivet with a head 33 of the bolt easily accessible at the front of the control for outward movement of the bolt relative to the rivet and draft control ring. With the bolt 32 securely held by the rivet to the draft control, the draft control can be inserted within the collar 30 and the bolt then moved outwardly by rotation thereof to have the end of the bolt firmly engage the interior of the collar 30 and secure the draft control to the collar.

With the foregoing threaded rivet and bolt structure, means are provided which can be associated with the draft control at the factory and are thus quickly available for use upon installation without loss of parts.

The threaded bolt 32 also performs a function of defining a one-way stop to limit pivotal movement of the gate 16 in one direction. In normal operation, the gate '16 will pivot in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 2, when a normal updraft condition occurs due to the major area of the draft control being located above the axis defined by hinge pins 17 and 18. Movement of the draft control in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 2, is prevented by the threaded bolt 32, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, with a plastic sleeve 35 fitted over the head of the bolt to provide a cushioned stop for the gate 16. This gate stop avoids the shaping or addition of parts for performing the same function.

As will be evident from the foregoing description, a draft control has been provided in which the limiting of gate pivotal movement in one direction is simply obtained solely by the use of a member which secures the draft control to a surrounding mounting member with this member having its own improved functions in being fac tory installed with the draft control and being available for use without any possible loss of parts.

I claim:

A draft control mountable within a collar for association with a flue comprising, an annular ring having a cylindrical wall, a gate positioned within the wall perimeter, hinge means on the gate and ring whereby the gate is mounted for opening movement about an axis and for movement in an opposite direction, adjustable weight means on said gate for adjusting the gate for different draft conditions, and means for fastening the ring to the \collar and preventing movement of the gate in a direction opposite said direction of opening movement including an internally threaded member fastened to and mounted in an opening in said wall generally above said axis and to the front of the gate, and a bolt threaded in said member for extension beyond the ring to engage said collar, said bolt having cushioning material thereon to form a one-way stop for the gate.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS EDWARD J. MICHAEL, Primary Examiner.

ALDEN STEWART, Examiner. 

